"Homer Jay Simpson" is a fictional character in the animated television program/television series The Simpsons as the patriarch of the Simpson family/eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show The Simpsons shorts/short "Good Night (The Simpsons short)/Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox Broadcasting Company/Fox that debuted December 17, 1989.